Hong Kong dim sum classics make comeback ... for now

By Vicki Williams, for CNN

Updated 0314 GMT (1114 HKT) March 28, 2014

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Photos:hong kong dim sum

Retro dim sum – Deep-fried custard buns shaped like pumpkins and pears are now available at Cantonese dim sum restaurant Tsui Hang VIllage, part of its retro dim sum menu, available only in March and April.

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Photos:hong kong dim sum

Siu mai – You can't go wrong with high-cholesterol deliciousness. Siu mai with quail egg or liver might not be as popular as it once was, but that doesn't mean it's not as tasty.

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Photos:hong kong dim sum

Giant chicken bun – One reason for the giant chicken bun's decline? Dim sum lunches are meant to include a wide variety of dishes for sharing, but this mountain of goodness is a meal in itself.

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Black sesame film rice roll – Black sesame film rice rolls are hard to find in tea houses these days. They're complicated to make but cost little for diners, meaning restaurants aren't motivated to put in the effort. The perfect sesame roll should have a smooth and glossy surface. The texture needs to be a bit chewy but not too sticky.

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Beef wrapped in caul fat – This parcel of beef, water chestnut and herbs wrapped in caul fat is available at Hong Kong restaurant Above and Beyond, but has to be requested in advance when making a reservation.

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Giant soup dumplings – Most giant soup dumplings, or gun tong gaau in Cantonese, are now submerged in a small pot of soup. But the original gun tong gaau is actually filled with soup. To eat it, lift the dumpling to your bowl with the spoon, open a section of the wrapper and add a bit of vinegar before chowing down.

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Bone wrapped in paper – Ribs are packed in baking paper with chu hou paste -- a braising sauce made of condiments like soy, sugar and garlic -- before they're deep fried. The result is a savory and juicy slice of pork locked in a paper pocket. Tsui Hang Village only occasionally has this one on the menu.

Story highlights

As innovative chefs create modern takes on dim sum, some of the classics are getting harder to find

A few Hong Kong restaurants continue to offer hard-to-find tastes like siu mai with quail egg

Health concerns have caused some dishes to fall from favor, such as the Chinese sausage bun

Creative new takes on dim sum are a common trend in Hong Kong restaurants these days, particularly at the higher end, with chefs incorporating traditionally Western ingredients such as truffles, foie gras or Maine lobster.

At the same time, many classic dim sum dishes have fallen out of fashion, making them harder to find in the city.

Chef Lee Kam, 76, worked at Hong Kong's Tsui Hang Village restaurant for 30 years before retiring.

He recently rejoined to launch a special "retro dim sum" menu to bring back a few of the classics, but only in March and April.

Lee says there are a couple reasons these dishes have gone out of style.

"First of all, a lot of the classic dim sum like the pork's liver siu mai and quail egg siu mai are very high in cholesterol," he says. "It's unhealthy in modern day's standard. Therefore, fewer and fewer restaurants put them on the menu."

Rice flour and black sesame are the key ingredients -- they're made into a paste, spread onto a tray, steamed, cooled and then rolled.

It has a smooth, silky texture with a bit of bite that's all about the sesame.

It's a tricky item to make that takes time, which is one reason it's not as common as it once was, making way for ubiquitous mango puddings or egg tarts.

"You have to first fry the sesame, then hand grind it to create a paste," says chef Lee.

"Then steam it until it forms a thin layer of film. If we're making them, we want them to be tasty. But in order to make them delicious, it takes a lot of effort."

Fay lum can still be found at Above & Beyond and Tsui Hang Village (in March and April as part of its retro dim sum menu).

Beef wrapped in caul fat

Popular in the 1930s and 1940s, this juicy, bouncy morsel consists of the beef siu mai filling (sometimes beef balls) encased in a fine layer of caul fat, which melts through the beef when it's steamed.

Chefs have different ways to prepare the beef, but it often consists of finely chopped meat, water chestnuts, coriander and dried mandarin peel.

Above & Beyond and Maxim's Palace serve this classic, which has diminished in popularity for two reasons -- it takes skill to make and is considered too fatty by many diners.

Rarer still

Gun tong gaau -- large, steamed soup dumplings.

A few other beloved and missed dim sum dishes include steamed duck feet dim sum.

There's also the amusingly named "bone wrapped in paper" and "chicken wrapped in paper," an aromatic style of dim sum in which seasoned and marinated spare ribs or chicken are placed in a cellophane "envelope" along with ingredients such as dried mushroom, coriander, chestnut and Chinese sausage, before being deep fried.

It's difficult to find the bone version; however the chicken version can sometimes be found at Above & Beyond.

Another bite of nostalgia no longer widely found is gun tong gaau (large, steamed soup dumplings) still served at London Restaurant, Luk Yu and Forum Restaurant.

View the above gallery for photos of some of these classics, plus a couple more dim sum dishes that are also increasingly rare.